What Does Water Do For Your Body?

Keeping a bottle of water at your side and drinking it throughout the day whether you are playing sports or sitting at your desk, can have remarkable affects on your health. We look at what really happens to your body, from your head to your toes, when you drink water.

1. Moody No More

A sharper memory, a more stable mood and better motivation has been linked to people who are well hydrated. Not drinking enough water can result in a reduced oxygen flow to the brain or shrink neurons, so adequate water will mean better brain power. Good hydration is one way of keeping your brain at its sharpest. When you are dehydrated your brain is not at 100%. A lot can go wrong when you’re not thinking straight! A reduction of just 2% in your hydration levels can have dramatic effects on your ability to think clearly.

2. Love Your Heart

When you are dehydrated, your heart muscles need to work much harder to pump blood and get enough oxygen to all your cells, as dehydration lowers blood volume. Drink enough water and you will perform everyday exercise more easily. According to medical experts at the Mayo Clinic, it is actually best to start hydrating the day before strenuous exercise. “Before exercising, drink 1 to 3 cups  of water. During the activity, replenish fluids at regular intervals and continue drinking water or other fluids after you're finished”. Take note sports people – and it’s calorie free!

3. Hydrated from Head to Toe

Being hydrated will help every part of your body from head to toe, particularly if you are exercising, as water will help to lubricate your joints which will result in a better performance. Water helps to energise muscles and when muscle cells do not have enough fluids they do not work and perform as well. It is really important to drink enough fluids when exercising. Muscle cramps can also occur in other areas of your body when you haven’t had enough fluids or are dehydrated. The most commonly involved muscle groups are: back of the lower leg / calf; back of the thigh (hamstrings) or front of the thigh (quadriceps).

4. Good Looking Skin

If your skin is very dehydrated it will become much less elastic and appear much more dry and wrinkled. This can be much improved with adequate hydration. You may think that you have dry skin, when in fact, you may actually have dehydrated skin, so drink up!

5. Ridding Your Body of Toxins

To function effectively, kidneys need enough water or else toxins can build up in the body. If your kidneys have enough water they can filter waste from the blood and it is then excreted in urine. Kidneys do an important job in ridding the body of toxins and cleansing it but need enough fluid to do this. Good hydration also helps with normal bowel function.

Drinking water is essential to good health for every part of our body. Our bodies are composed of about 60% water and the functions of these bodily fluids include circulation, digestion, absorption and transportation of nutrients.